PANAJI
Stating that the police have been instructed to conduct random checks on drunk driving and overspeeding in certain stretches of the roads on the backdrop of the Zuari mishap, Director General of Police (DGP) Jaspal Singh, however, said that it is the responsibility of the citizens to ensure that they obey all rules while driving on the roads.
Speaking to reporters, Singh said, “Whatever happened was unfortunate and my sympathies are with the family but at the same time, citizens should obey traffic rules. Machines should not control human beings but human beings should control the machine. There is a speed limit which needs to be followed.”
“The accident happened in the wee hours when the traffic was less. It is assessed that the speed of the vehicle was very high as breaking the crash barrier and then plunging into river requires very high speed,” he stated.
“We have instructed traffic police to conduct random checks at certain stretches, even during the night, against drunken driving and over-speeding. But enforcement can only change the behaviour of the people. One cannot expect law enforcement officers to be stationed everywhere as it is only a symbolic presence to make the citizens understand that they will face prosecution if they violate the rules. I would say every individual needs to be responsible,” Singh opined and laid stress on the importance of education on obeying traffic rules in schools, colleges and most importantly in families.
“The education at school, college and family level is important. Families should tell young people to follow traffic rules. In this incident, the victims were over 35 years, reasonably aware of the traffic rules. Every citizen should obey traffic rules, including police personnel,” he further added.
“We take action whenever we find our personnel not obeying traffic rules. Recently, we educated our personnel to follow traffic rules after a young police officer died in an accident at Atal Setu bridge. We will tackle the problem through education and strict enforcement,” Singh informed.
On problems of roads in the State, Singh said that people should understand that roads tend to wear out during the monsoons and potholes should be negotiated through slow driving. “The individual who rides a two-wheeler or drives a four-wheeler should follow the conditions laid down when he or she got the driving license. Compliance of conditions is not confined to only getting the driving license but needs to be followed at all times when they are on the road,” he concluded.
